JPH03182425A - Sheet cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of a jam and image distortion by locking regulating plates, and prohibiting the sheet feed when the lock state is released. CONSTITUTION:Hooking sections 11f, 11g are provided at the lower section of a regulating plate 11, and hooking sections 12f, 12g are provided at the lower section of a regulating plate 12 respectively. The hooking sections 11g, 12g are hooked and locked by lock sections 19, 20 as shown by arrows D, F respectively. The hooking section 11f is hooked by a size detecting section 23 provided on a side bottom plate 3 as shown by an arrow C, and the hooking section 12f is hooked by a regulating plate detecting section 24. If the sheet size is not detected, e.g., at the time of an unsatisfactory lock while sheets are set or when a lock is released for some cause, a signal to prohibit the sheet feed as error processing is sent to a copying machine main body side. The drift of the regulating plates 11, 12 during the sheet feed due to a forgotten lock, resultingly the oblique feed of sheets, and a jam can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (al Industrial Field of Application) This invention relates to a paper cassette that stores a large number of sheets of paper and is installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. The present invention relates to a paper cassette equipped with a regulation plate for use in paper cassettes.

(b) Conventional Technology A large number of sheets of paper are stored in a paper cassette installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, thereby reducing the effort required to replenish paper. Further, the above-mentioned paper cassette is generally capable of storing paper of an appropriate size according to the usage state of the user. In other words, a slideable regulating plate is provided inside the cassette body, and by moving this regulating plate according to the width of the paper stored, the paper is positioned in the width direction, and the paper is fed at a fixed position regardless of the paper size. I'm trying to make it happen.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention Since the restriction plate is moved by the user according to the usage condition, it is desirable that the restriction plate be moved smoothly with little force. However, if the regulating plate is made to move smoothly, the regulating plate may gradually become misaligned due to vibrations during paper feeding, resulting in jamming or image distortion due to misaligned paper feeding. Particularly in large-capacity cassettes that store a large number of sheets of paper, the above-mentioned problems are likely to occur due to cumulative displacement of the regulating plate due to vibration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a paper strength control device that prevents jams and image distortions as described above by locking a regulating plate and prohibiting paper feeding when the locking state is released. The purpose is to

(Means for Solving Problem d1) The present invention provides a paper cassette including a regulating plate that is movable according to the width of paper stored in the cassette main body, and a locking means for locking the regulating plate at various paper width positions. and a means for detecting this locked state, and
The present invention is characterized in that a means is provided for prohibiting paper feeding into the cassette body when the regulating plate is in an unlocked state.

(11) Effect In the present invention, it becomes possible to lock the regulating plate according to the width of the paper placed thereon, and when this lock is not performed, paper feeding processing is prohibited. therefore,
For example, if you forget to lock the regulation plate when setting paper, or if the lock is released for some reason, paper feeding processing is prohibited, and skewed feeding of paper is prevented.

(f) Embodiment ■ Overall configuration FIG. 16 is a schematic front view of a copying machine equipped with a large-capacity cassette, and FIG. 15 is an external view.

In the figure, 1 is a cassette body that is inserted into the copying machine body, 2 is a cover made of transparent resin such as acrylic, 3 is a side bottom plate fixedly arranged inside the cassette body, and 4 is a hopper stand on which paper is placed. It moves up and down along belts 5 provided on both side surfaces. Sensors (microswitches) Sl and S2 are provided at the limit positions of the vertical movement of the hopper stand 4, and when the sensor S1 detects paper or the hopper stand, the rising of the hopper stand 4 is stopped, and the sensor S2 detects the hopper stand 4. When this is detected, the lowering of the hopper stand 4 is stopped. Case/) A door switch S3 is provided on the main body 1 at a position opposite to the cover 2, and detects whether the cover 2 is opened or closed. When the cover 2 is closed, the hopper stand 4 rises, and when the cover 2 is opened, the hopper stand 4 descends to the lower limit position.A guide plate 6 is provided in front of the side bottom plate 3, and a guide plate 6 is provided in front of the side bottom plate 3. Guide the paper.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a preliminary paper feed roller that contacts the paper on the hopper table 4 and feeds the paper. Also, 9 is a preliminary paper feed roller 8
This is an auxiliary roller provided between the paper feed roller 7 and the paper feed roller 7.

Here, a separation claw 10 (a claw provided at the leading edge E of the paper, for preventing double feeding) and a paper feed roller 7 (paper detection sensor S
4) is Ll, and the length of the minimum size paper is L2. The auxiliary roller 9 is provided to prevent paper conveyance from stopping in the middle of the guide plate when Ll>L2.For example, in this device, L2 is approximately 182n for B5 horizontal feeding and Ll is approximately 20on. The auxiliary roller 9 is provided at the center where the distance between the rollers 8-9 and the distance between the rollers 9-7 are each 100N. Preliminary paper feed roller 8. The paper is sent to the paper feed roller 7 by the auxiliary roller 9, and is detected by the sensor S4. Then, as the paper feed roller 7 rotates, the paper is sent to a position between the photoreceptor 50 and the transfer device 51 of the main body of the copying machine. Reference numerals 11 and 12 are regulating plates, respectively, on the inside (in the direction of the arrow). ,
Before moving outward (in the direction of arrow B).

Each mechanical section will be explained in detail below. Figures 1 to 3
The figure is a perspective view showing the main structure of a large-capacity force centrifuge.

(2) Hopper table moving mechanism In FIG. 2, the side bottom plate 3 is fixed to the cassette body as described above. On the other hand, the hopper table 4 moves up and down as rollers 4a provided on both side surfaces move along a belt (5) not shown. The portion of the hopper stand 4 that is housed inside the cassette body l is made up of three plates 4b, 4.
b and 4c, and the cover 2 is made up of a mounting table 4d. The center mounting table 4C has a width that almost matches the width of the smallest size paper, and is fixed to the outer mounting table 4d. Slide hopper stands 4b, 4b are mounting stands 4c
The upper surface of the hopper can be moved in the directions of arrows A and B, and is moved according to the size of the paper placed on the hopper table. This movement is performed by a regulating plate. That is, the regulating plates 11.12 shown in FIG. 1 are loosely fitted into the retaining parts 4e, 4e on the sides of the slide hopper stands 4b, 4b, and when the regulating plates 11.12 move in the force direction of the arrow AB, they slide accordingly. Hopper stand 4
b and 4b move in the directions of arrows A and B. Although the slide hopper stands 4b and 4b move in the vertical direction along the regulating plates 11 and 12, there is some play in the engagement of the regulating plates 11 and 12 in the retaining portion 4e, making it easy to move the hopper stands up and down. It will be done.

(2) Regulation Plate Moving Mechanism In FIG. 1, the regulation plates 11 and 12 move in the directions of arrows A and B along reinforcing plates 13 fixed to the cassette body at both ends. Each of the regulating plates 11 and 12 is provided with horizontal pieces 11a and 12a at the upper part thereof, and is supported by the reinforcing plate 13 here.

On the bottom surface of the reinforcing plate 13, sills 14a and 15a are formed along the moving direction of the regulating plate 11.12. Slide shaft 16a along these slits 14a, 15a
is passed, and the regulating plate mounting portion 14 is attached to the slide shaft 16a.
b, 15b is inserted. Regulation plate mounting part 14b, 1
5b each has a regulating plate fixing part fixed to the regulating plate 11, 12, a slide spring, and a wire attachment part.

The regulating plate fixing portion of the regulating plate mounting portion 14b is screwed onto the regulating plate 11 through the slit 14a.

Further, the regulating plate fixing portion of the regulating plate mounting portion 15b has a slit 15.
It is screwed to the regulation plate 12 through a. Then, the wire 16 is attached to the wire attachment part above the slits 14a and 15a.
d is stretched.

Pulleys 16b and 16c are attached to the side piece of the reinforcing plate 13 along the slide shaft 16a.
A wire 16d is stretched between the wire mounting portions b and 16c and the wire mounting portions of the regulating plate mounting portions 14b and 15b. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing this state. One end of the wire 16 (l is fixed to the reinforcing plate 13, the regulating plate attachment part 14b, the pulley 1
6b, and is fixed to the other regulating plate mounting portion 15b. Further, the wire 16d is fixed to the regulating plate attachment portion 14b via a pulley 16c.

With such a configuration, for example, when the regulation plate attachment part 14b moves in the direction of arrow A, the other regulation plate attachment part 15b is pulled and moves in the direction of the arrow by the same distance as the regulation plate attachment plate 14b. Conversely, if the regulation plate attachment part 14b moves in the direction of arrow B, the regulation plate attachment part 15b also moves by the same distance in the direction of arrow B. Note that the same operation also occurs when the regulating plate attachment portion 15b is moved. At this time, the regulation plate mounting portion 14
a15a moves smoothly along the slide shaft 16a.

The regulation plate attachment part 14a is attached to the horizontal piece 11a of the regulation plate 11, and the regulation plate attachment part 15a is attached to the horizontal piece 1 of the regulation plate 12.
2a. On the horizontal pieces 11a and 12a, a regulating plate mounting portion 14a is provided.

15a is fixed at a position slightly forward of the center of gravity P of each regulating plate. When the regulation plate 11.12 is in a free state (when the lock described later is released), the regulation plate 11.12 is suspended by the regulation plate mounting parts 14a and 15a, with the lower end facing toward you (hereinafter referred to as Fig. 16). In this state, hold the levers llb and 12b provided on each of the regulating plates 11.12 and move the regulating plate 11.12 in the direction of arrow A or arrow B. If you move it, the regulation plate will slide jab) 16
a, and the regulating plates 11, 12 can be easily moved to a position corresponding to the width of the paper. Note that 16e is a size label indicating the position of the paper width of the specified size. The regulating plates 11.12 are locked by a locking mechanism to be described later.
12 is held vertically by locking its lower end.

Rollers 17a and 18a are attached to the back of the center of gravity P to facilitate the movement of the aforementioned regulating plates 11 and 12. Slits 17b and 18b are formed on the bottom of the reinforcing plate 13 at the back of the sling t-14a15a, and the roller 17a is screwed onto the horizontal piece 11a through the slit 17b, and the slit 7
) A roller 18a is screwed onto the horizontal piece 12a through 18b. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how the roller 17a (18a is attached in the same way) is installed, FIG. 6 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the roller 17a.
The support shaft 17d is connected to the regulating plate 1 by the roller mounting portion 17C.
It is attached to 1. The roller mounting part 17c is the support shaft 1
The foot part is formed in a box-shaped part into which the roller 7d is loosely fitted, and the roller 17a is rotatably supported in a state where the roller 17a is lifted from the regulation [11]. Note that this support part does not use bearings or the like, so there is no increase in cost.

When the regulating plate 11 is locked, the rollers 17a are lifted off the reinforcing plate 13 as shown in FIG. 7(A), and the rollers 17a do not come into contact with the reinforcing plate 13. However, when the regulation plate II is unlocked, the regulation plate 11 is tilted and the back side is lowered from the regulation plate attachment part 14b, so the roller 17a comes into contact with the reinforcing plate 13 (FIG. 7(B)), and this state If the regulating plate is moved in the direction of arrow A or B, the rollers 17a rotate accordingly, making it easier to move the regulating plate 11. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the mountings ll1i and 17c have bottom-shaped top surfaces that are inclined from the front toward the back. This is to ensure that the upper surface of the mounting plate 17c becomes parallel to the support shaft 17d of the roller when the regulating plate 11 is unlocked. By forming the tank bottom in this manner, when the roller 17a rotates along the reinforcing plate 13, it is possible to prevent uneven rotation due to the edge portion of the mounting plate 17.C rubbing against the support shaft 17d.

Further behind the horizontal pieces 11a and 12a are positioning bins l.
lc and 12c are provided. This positioning bin 11
Concave portions (not shown) are formed at positions corresponding to the widths of the various sheets of paper on the reinforcing plate 13, facing the paper sheets 12c and 12c. As a result, the regulating plates 11, 12 are positioned at positions corresponding to various paper widths. Furthermore, a roller positioning member 1id for positioning the preliminary paper feeding roller 8 is provided at the rear end of the horizontal pieces 11a and 12a.
12d is attached (described later).

■ Regulation plate lock mechanism The regulating plate 11.12 has a groove 11e in the vertical direction.

12e is formed. The rollers 4a of the hopper stand 4 move along the grooves lie and 12e, and the hopper stand 4 is moved in the vertical direction. A locking portion 1 is provided at the lower end of the regulation plate 11.
1f and l1g, and the lower end of the regulating plate 12 has a locking portion 12f.
, 12g are each provided with a locking portion 11g before 0,
12g are respectively latched and locked by locking portions 19 and 20 provided on the side bottom plate in FIG. 2, as indicated by arrows F. Further, the rear locking portion 11f is locked to the size detection portion 23 provided on the side bottom plate 3 as shown by arrow C, and the locking portion 12f is locked to the regulation plate detection portion 24.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the lock portion 19. A substantially U-shaped lock angle 19a with an open bottom is screwed onto the side bottom plate 3. A notch 19b is formed from one surface of the lock angle 19a to the front side surface. The notch portion 19b is tapered gradually at the back side of the upper surface, and the retaining portion 11g of the regulating plate is held therebetween. This notch 19b
A plurality of sheets are formed to match the widths of various types of paper. When placing paper on the hopper stand 4, the regulation plate 11 is moved to a predetermined position according to the width of the paper placed on the hopper stand 4,
It is pushed into the opposing notch 19b from the front toward the back. Inside the lock angle 19a is a plate spring 19.
c is provided, and when the regulating plate 11 is pushed into the notch 19b, the retaining portion 11g overcomes the leaf spring 19c and is urged toward the rear by the leaf spring 19C. In this way, the regulation plate 11 is locked at a position corresponding to the width of the paper. The regulating plate 12 is similarly locked by the lock portion 20.

The regulation plate 11 is unlocked as follows.

A lock release member 21b is provided on the side of the lock angle 19a.
A lock release angle 21a is provided to support the lock release angle 21a. FIG. 9 is an external view of the lock release member 21b. The lock release member 21b has a lock release portion 21C parallel to the leaf spring 19c and a pressing piece 21d having a flat surface in the front direction. The lock release member 21b is rotatably supported by the lock release angle 21a at a support portion 21e.

When the pressing piece 21d is pressed, the lock release member 21b rotates, and the lock release portion 21c is rotated as shown in FIG. 8(B).
presses the temporary spring 19c and lifts it up. Then, the locking part 1
1g is released, the lower end of the regulating plate 11 is pushed forward as shown by the arrow in the figure, and the lock is released.

Pressing of the pressing piece 21d is performed by a lock release lever 22a provided on the hopper stand 4. Lock release lever 2
2a is attached to a lock shaft 22b, and the lock shaft 22b is rotatably supported. Lock pressers 22c are provided at both ends of the lock shaft 22b. When the lock release lever 22a is pressed, the lock shaft 22b rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the lock presser 2
2C presses the pressing piece 21d of the lock release member.The restriction plate 11.12 can be locked by simply pushing the restriction plate 11.
You can unlock it by pressing . Further, when the hopper stand 4 is not lowered, even if the lock release lever 22a is pushed, the lock presser 22c will not move the pressing piece 21.
．． Since there is no contact with d, the regulation plate 11.12 will not be unlocked, and it is possible to prevent the regulation plate 11.12 from becoming unlocked due to erroneous operation. Further, since the lock release lever 22a is provided in the center of the hopper table 4, that is, in a position where it is hidden even when the smallest size paper is placed, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of erroneous operation.

■Regulation Plate Detection Device The rear locking portion 11f of the restriction plate 11 is inserted into the size detection portion 23 as described above. A plurality of notches 23b are formed in the size detection angle 23a of the size detection section 23 in accordance with the paper width. This notch 23b
is formed from the top surface to the front side surface, similar to those provided in the Ronfangle 19 and 20 described above, and the regulation plate 11 is held in the rear part of the top surface. A size detection board 23c is provided inside the size detection angle 23a. The size detection board 23c is provided with a plate spring 23d (see FIG. 10) according to the paper width, that is, the notch 23b, and when the regulating plate 11 is inserted into the notch 23b, the plate spring 23d is pressed downward. The tact switch 23e corresponding to the width of each sheet of paper arranged in the paper is turned on.

The rear locking portion 12f of the regulation plate 12 is inserted into the regulation plate detection unit 24. The regulation plate detection section 24 is also provided with a regulation plate detection angle 24a, and the locking part 12' is inserted into the notch 24b provided according to the paper size. This leaf spring turns on a switch 5WI (not shown) to detect the locked state of the regulation plate 12.

(2) Separation claws IO are provided at the upper front ends of the paper feed mechanism regulating plates 11 and 12, respectively. The hopper table 4 on which the paper is placed is connected to the sensor St.
until the top paper is detected. At this time, the uppermost paper comes into contact with the separation claw lO.

When the sensor S1 is turned on, the preliminary paper feed roller 8.8 comes into contact with the upper surface of the uppermost paper. The preliminary paper feeding rollers 8, 8 and the auxiliary roller 9 are rotationally driven by a motor 25. The motor 25 is held by a motor frame 25a, fixed to the reinforcing plate 13 as shown by arrow G, and transmits driving force to the preliminary paper feeding rollers 8, 8 and the auxiliary roller 9. The driving force of the motor 25 is first transmitted to the paper feed drive shaft 26 by a belt. From here, the belt 8b transmits the driving force to the shaft 8a that supports the preliminary paper feed rollers 8, 8, and the belt 9b, 9c transmits the driving force to the shaft 9a that supports the auxiliary roller 9. It is supported so that it can move slightly in the direction. This is because the preliminary paper feed roller 8.8 rides on the topmost paper by its own weight. The preliminary paper feed roller 8.8 is supported by the shaft 8a via a one-way clutch and is movable in the directions of arrows A and B. The roller positioning members 11d and 12d are preliminary paper feeding rollers 8 and 8.
are attached to the regulating plates 11 and 12, respectively.

Therefore, when the regulating plates 11, 12 move in the directions of arrows A and B, the preliminary paper feed rollers 8 and 8 also move in the directions of arrows A and B accordingly. Note that as shown in FIG. 11, the regulation plate 11.
The shaft 8a is located at a position approximately 201 m from the front end of the regulating plate 11.12, and the preliminary paper feeding roller 8.8 is moved so that it is approximately 30 m from the side surface of the regulating plate 11.12. By setting the preliminary paper feed roller 8.8 at such a position, it is possible to reliably feed paper across the width of the paper.

As shown in FIG. 12, a temporary spring 27a is provided on the guide plate 6 below the auxiliary roller 9 and is spot-welded to the guide plate 6 to press the auxiliary roller 9 upward. This pressing force is preferably about 150 g.The upper surface of the leaf spring 27a is covered with a film 27 made of foamed urethane, artificial leather, etc. with a high coefficient of friction.
b is attached to prevent double feeding of paper. Generally, paper used in copying machines is packaged in wrapping paper coated with a paraffin moisture-proofing agent. Therefore, the moisture proofing agent adheres to the outermost sheet of paper, reducing frictional resistance and making double feeding more likely to occur. In the case of a large-capacity cassette, since a plurality of paper bundles are stored in the cassette at once and used in sequence, double feeding is likely to occur at each boundary between the paper stacks. Therefore, the film 27a prevents double feeding.The paper feeding force of the auxiliary roller 9 is approximately 300~
Since the weight is approximately 600 g, if a film with a very high coefficient of friction is used, poor paper conveyance may occur, so the film should be selected appropriately. Note that 27c is a resin film attached to eliminate the level difference caused by the leaf spring 27a.

(2) Control Section FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the control section of the large capacity cassette.

The operation of the large capacity cassette is controlled by a controller 30. The controller 30 has an upper and lower limit sensor SI S2
, the door switch S3, the paper detection sensor S4, the size detection board 23c, and the like. Size detection board 23
c is connected in parallel with the lock confirmation switch Swl of the regulation plate 12 provided in the regulation plate detection unit 24, and the size detection data is transmitted to the controller 30 only when both regulation plates 11.12 are securely locked. is input.

Based on these detections, the motor 31 for moving the hopper stand 4 and the paper feed motor 25 are driven.

(2) Operation Description FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the large capacity cassette.

Door switch S3 is turned on when door 2 is opened.

When the door switch S3 is turned on, the hopper stand motor 31 rotates in the opposite direction to lower the hopper stand 4 (nl→n2) to enable paper replenishment. When the hopper stand 4 descends to the lower limit position, the sensor S2 is turned on (n3), and after t1 time has elapsed, the hopper stand motor 31 is turned off and the descent of the hopper stand 4 is stopped (n4→n5). This [1
The time is only a short time of about 1 second, so the hopper stand 4 will not fall too far and damage the cassette body 1.1. By stopping the hopper stand 4 after a certain period of time, the lock presser 2 of the lock release lever is
2C comes into reliable contact with the pressing piece 21d, and the problem of "unable to release the lock" can be prevented from occurring.

When the hopper stand 4 is completely lowered, the lock release lever 2
When 2a is pressed, the locking of the regulating plates 11 and 12 is released, and the lower part of the regulating plate is pushed forward. In this state, if one or both of the levers 11b and 12b is slid to match the size position of the paper on which the size label 16e is placed, both the regulation plates 11 and 12 will move by the same distance, and the locking part of the regulation plate will move. 11g, llf, 12g, and 12f face the notches 19b, 23b, 20b, and 24b, respectively.

If the lower end of the regulating plate 11.12 is pushed to the rear, the locking portion is locked, and the regulating plate will not be displaced even if vibrations are applied due to paper feeding.
12 is securely locked, the switch Swl
is turned on, one of the tact switches 23e is turned on, and the paper size is input to the controller. When the user places paper on the hopper table 4 and closes the cover 2, the door switch S3 detects this.

When the sensor S3 is turned off (nil), the motor for moving the hopper stand rotates in the forward direction, and the hopper stand 4 rises to the position of the sensor Sl (n12→n13→n14). This brings the preliminary paper feed rollers 8, 8 into contact with the uppermost paper. This completes the loading of paper into the cassette body.

When a large-capacity cassette selection signal is input manually from the control section of the copying machine main body (n21), it is determined in n22 whether the paper size has been detected. Since the paper size cannot be determined unless both regulation plates 11.12 are locked, if the size is detected, at least one of the regulation plates 11.12 is in a locked state. If the paper size is not detected, for example if the lock fails when setting the paper or if the lock comes off for some reason, press n2.
In step 3, a message to the effect that paper feeding is prohibited is sent to the copying machine main body as an error process. This makes it possible to prevent the regulation plates 11, 1.2 from shifting during paper feeding due to forgetting to lock the paper, thereby preventing the paper from being skewed and jammed.

If the paper size has been detected, the machine waits for reception of a paper feed start signal (n24), and when the copying process is started in the copying machine main body, a paper feed signal is sent to the large capacity cassette. Then, the controller 30 compares Ll and Ll (see FIG. 16), and if LL<Ll, the process goes to n26 and Ll≧L2.
In this case, proceed to n29. When performing paper feeding process, Ll<
If it is Ll, even when the leading edge of the paper reaches the paper feeding roller 7, the trailing edge remains in contact with the preliminary paper feeding roller 8. However, when Ll≧L2, before the leading edge of the paper reaches the paper feed roller 7, the trailing edge of the paper leaves the preliminary paper feed roller 8, and the next paper starts to be fed by the preliminary paper feed roller 8, and then the first sheet The paper reaches the paper feed roller 7.

At this time, the leading edge of the next sheet may be looped by the separation claw 10, and if left as is, the leading edge of the sheet may form a loop, causing jams and transfer failures during image formation processing. Become.

Therefore, in the case of L1≧L2, the difference ΔL between LL and Ll is calculated, and if this is smaller than the predetermined length, it is assumed that the next sheet will be left in a looped state, and in order to eliminate this, n31 ~Proceed to the process of n34 (n25→n29
→n30). First, the paper feed motor 25 is turned on to start preliminary paper feeding (n31). When the leading edge of the paper reaches 84, the paper feed roller is rotated for t2 hours to continue feeding the paper until the leading edge of the paper leaves the separating claw 10 (n32→n33). When the leading edge leaves the separation claw 10, the paper feed motor n34 is turned off.

On the other hand, if Ll<Ll, the paper feed motor 25 is turned on until the paper feed sensor S4 detects the paper to feed the paper (n26→n27→n28).

Note that in the case of ΔL, the second sheet of paper has already passed through the separation claw 10 when the leading edge of the first sheet of paper reaches the paper feed roller 7, and the second sheet of paper is left in a loop. Since this is not the case, the process proceeds in the order of n30→n26→n27→n28, and the paper is not fed after the paper is detected in S4.

In this embodiment, after S4 detects the paper by comparing Ll and Ll, the paper is further fed for t2 hours to prevent the leading edge of the next paper from being left in a loop. The paper feeding roller may be rotated by detecting the loop state of the paper.

Further, in this embodiment, a mechanism for holding the locking portion 11g of the regulating plate between the cut portions 19b using the leaf spring 19c corresponds to a locking means for the regulating plate, and a tact switch 23e and a switch Swl are means for detecting the locked state. Furthermore, n22. of the flowchart. n23 corresponds to means for inhibiting paper feeding.

(g1 Effects of the Invention As described above, according to this invention, paper is not fed when the regulating plate is not locked, which prevents the paper from being fed diagonally and prevents the occurrence of jams and image distortion. can do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are perspective views of the main parts of a large-capacity cassette that is an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 shows a regulating plate and a reinforcing plate portion that holds the regulating plate, and FIG. 2 shows the lower part of the regulating plate. FIG. 3 shows the paper feeding section. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the regulating plate moving mechanism. Figures 5 to 7 are diagrams showing the rollers that smooth the movement of the regulating plate.
5 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 6 is a front view, FIG. 7(A) is a side view of the regulating plate in the locked state, and FIG. 7(B) is a side view of the regulating plate in the unlocked state. Moreover, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the locking mechanism of the lower part of the regulating plate, with FIG. 8(A) showing the locked state and FIG. 8(B) showing the unlocked state. Figure 9 is an external view of the lock release member that unlocks the regulation plate, Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the sensor that detects the paper width, and Figure 11 shows the position of the preliminary paper feed roller. 12 are cross-sectional views of the vicinity of the auxiliary roller. Furthermore, FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the control section of the large capacity cassette.
Figures 4 (A) to (C) are flowcharts showing processing procedures for large-capacity cassettes, Figure 15 is an external view of the large-capacity cassette, and Figure 16 is a schematic front view of a copying machine equipped with a large-capacity cassette. It is. 11.12-Regulation plate, 11f, Ilg, 12f, 12g-locking part, 13-reinforcement plate, 19.20-lock part, 19a-lock angle, 19b-notch part, 19c-plate spring, 23e-tact switch , 5w1- (lock state detection) switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A paper cassette equipped with a regulating plate that is movable according to the width of paper stored in the cassette main body, comprising a locking means for locking the regulating plate at various paper width positions, and a means for detecting the locked state. In addition to establishing
A paper cassette characterized in that the paper cassette is provided with a means for prohibiting paper feeding into the cassette main body when a regulating plate is in an unlocked state.